Well, that was fun.   This past week, I’ve carried around a minor irritation.  The light switch in my master bathroom got stiff all of a sudden.  I’d flip it on, the light would flicker, then go off.  The worst part is, it impacted my daily routine.  In the morning, I get up, stumble into the bathroom and flip the switch.  It is the first conscious effort of my day, and thus, a critical determinant of my mood.  If the light does not go on as expected, I start grumbling.  Grumbling is not a good way to start a day.

So this fine, gloomy Saturday morning, I decide I’m going to take matters into my own hands.  I pull out the Home Depot book and take a looksee.  It doesn’t seem to hard to replace the switch box.  I pull together the list of tools, a flathead, a phillips, needlenose pliers, electrical tape, and my camping lantern.  We all head into the bathroom. 
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Remodeling: Are you done yet?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 01. 2006 and is filed under Home Improvement,General Musings.

I sent the kitchen contractors off today with homemade cookies, they were so great to me.  I had drilled through one of my doors (with a very tiny bit) when mounting a hook for my apron and mitt (stupid error on my part), and the contractor walked all the way back to his truck to rummage around for a matched putty.  He ended up giving it to me.  Also, when I bought the sink, it didn’t come with a drain!  He went out to Home Depot, and bought me one out of his own pocket.  It probably ends up even-steven, because I always made sure they had food, soda, etc., but so nice that they all went that extra mile for me. 

It was a great experience!  I can’t wait to do another renovation.  Hopefully, in five years, I’ll find another property in need of a do-over, and I’ll just fix it and flip it.  I think the value on my place went up about $50k, and I spent $26k.  So I should have made about $24k with two months of work!  None too shabby! 

Before and After Picts

You know the adage, fix one thing and two more will pop up in its place?  My living room wall is just too blue.  The idea was to paint the wall a shade to echo the lake, but boy, I think i got it wrong.  It’s a pretty blue, but Lake Michigan is far from blue.  So, I came home with a bunch of paint chips and found exactly the right shade of green (Note: In the past year, I’ve learned the lake is not blue.  It is green.  Who knew?)  The paint shade is unfortunately named “Lagoon,” but it is exactly the right shade of green.  I’ve been holding the sample up to the lake in a multitude of lighting, and it appears to be a good match.  I also think it has more of a glow to it than the current blue, so it reflects more light in the evening.  I’m too tired to paint again this month, but probably before the end of the summer.

As you can probably imagine, poor Dave has learned to what extent my particularity extends…I spent four months looking for just the right hot water kettle, two months finding just the right faucet fixture, two years to find the right couch, and I have yet to find just the right comforter for the bedroom.  It was the right decision though, putting up with second- and third-hand furniture until I could afford exactly what I wanted!  Other decisions are easier, I knew Uba Tuba was the granite I wanted as soon as I saw it, I picked out my microwave and stove in 15 minutes, I knew I wanted maple floors.

http://www.charmingcollector.com/remodel/remodel.html